Australia: Duck producers struggle to expand

Duck producers in Australia say their burgeoning industry is being held back by public ignorance and misinformation, as angry neighbours of a planned Hunter development argue ducks should be grown on “unusable land” such as old open-cut mines, reports The Land.

Suppliers in New South Wales are falling about 10,000 ducks short each week as demand booms, and they plan huge expansions.

There are now less price differences between duck and other meats such as chicken, and expanding populations in Asia create an ever-increasing demand.

The Australian industry now kills about 7 mln ducks a year. This figure is reportedly growing by about 12% each year.

Meanwhile, a proposed breeder farm at Howes Valley, in the Hunter Valley, remains tangled in local government processes and opposition from the nearby Singleton community, The Land reports.

The chairman of the Australian Duck Meat Association, John Houston, who is also GM of Pepe’s Ducks, Windsor, which is linked to the Howes Valley venture, said without the necessary sheds there would be no industry boom or extra jobs.